What it is, how it works, why it's important and how to hook it up in your
home studio

by Rich the TweakMeister

Ok, professional mixologists,
filter-heads, LFO-freakoids,
Vintage synth-masters, and advanced sample rippers please click
here to go back to the
end of the article, where I will let you back in. And don't smirk at these new dudes
on the way out! This article is for the newbie who wants to get going using
MIDI and audio and making their own music. This is the most basic of the basics.
Its for the person who knows nothing at all about MIDI and audio technology
but wants to learn really fast and learn everything you need to know for success.

So
I should only have Newbies here now. Cool. Don't worry about all those "pro"
elitists, they were here once themselves (and probably not long ago). Lucky for
you, the Tweak is your teacher. Pay attention 'cause there is a test
at the end. Let the TweakMeister get you up to speed in 10 minutes.
In this article we talk about MIDI, then next we'll get into AUDIO
and after that we'll ties them together and discuss the
Basic Recording Studio.

Let me
say it now. Those that succeed as home electronic musicians understand
MIDI. You can try to get by without it, but it will dog you at every
turn. Don't think the MIDI is only something that keyboard players need to
know. Today, MIDI controller data is used to automate a variety of studio
gear, including the hardware and software mixing consoles we use. Read the
next paragraphs several times, slowly.

MIDI is made of Controller and Note DATA, not Audio.

MIDI,
the Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a protocol
developed in 1983 by major synthesizer manufacturers to allow one synth to play
another remotely. They tried to figure out a way they could make a second synthesizer
play by sending it control data from the first. They figured it out, and more!
The developers quickly found out a computer could record and playback 16
channels of this data and it revolutionized the way music is produced. Then they
discovered with the right hardware you can have several of these 16 channel bundles
(or ports) all running at once. The implications were profound.
Now one person could compose multi-part music all by themselves.

IMPORTANT:
MIDI works by sending NOTE ON and NOTE OFF eventsdown a midi cable as well as timing information and controller (knobs,
wheels, and sliders) information. Read that again, OK?
MIDI works by sending NOTE ON and NOTE OFF eventsdown a midi
cable as well as timing information and controller (knobs, wheels,
and sliders) information. MIDI does not send sound, or audio
down the MIDI cable.

---->Understand that
MIDI is NOT an audio signal<-----

The sound (or audio waveform) of the keyboard
or module does not go down the MIDI cable, only these computer encoded "events"
do. What is an "event?" It's all just numbers, man.
But not the large blocks of numbers that make up an audio waveform. MIDI events
are just ones and zeros that say when you pressed down which key (a
note ON event), how hard you pressed it (velocity number), when you
let the key up (a note OFF event), pressed the next key, moved a knob (controller
data), changed a program (program change command). That is the basic
point you have to fully understand. The cool
thing is that all this MIDI data, once recorded,
is fully, totally, completely editable, malleable, changeable, transformable, re-assignable,
erasable, replaceable and it all happens on the edit screens of your sequencer.

This is MIDI Data

Notice that in this screen
"position" is the time stamp, "num" is the midi note on command, "val" is
the velocity value and length/info is the length in ticks. 240 has
the duration of an eighth note

How MIDI Works

MIDI
Sequencers(i.e., Sonar, Logic, Cubase)work by recording
these NOTE ON/OFF events along a timing grid that can be played back at any tempo.
When you press Play on a sequencer, it simply sends the data back to the synth,
which turns on the notes and plays it just like a player piano. Get it? Because
the Synth receives the exact same events that it sent when you played
the track, it sounds exactly the same. If it doesn't sound like you want
you can edit it on the screen. That is how MIDI data is converted to sound.
Once the synth is playing back a midi track, now you can record that track as an
audio track, assuming you have a hardware MIDI synth, by connecting the analog
outputs of the synth to the soundcard line inputs and pressing record.
Now you have an audio track. Makes sense so far? Cool.
If not, read that paragraph again. It's critical.

MIDI
devices (i.e., keyboards, hardware sound modules and control surfaces) typically
have 16 channels they can send and receive on. Much like
your TV, you can have a different program on each channel. The only difference
is that MIDI can play all 16 channels at the same time. These channels correspond
to tracks in your sequencer. On each track, you can assign a different
instrument. A typical starter MIDI keyboard may have hundreds of instruments
to choose from. You record each track while the previous tracks play back.
Because MIDI has 16 channels, you can have 16 instruments playing together,
like a 16 piece band, if you want, that is totally of your own design.

Core Concept: MIDI data can be recorded as sequences of notes
onto different tracks which correspond to channels

MIDI IN, Out and
Thru (Standard MIDI jacks)

Why is MIDI confusing? Because the terms change depending on your vantage
point. From the vantage point of the computer, the MIDI out goes "to" a device,
like a keyboard. The MIDI in comes "from" a device, like a keyboard or drum
controller.

From the standpoint of the keyboard, the MIDI
outgoes to a computer or another device.
When you play notes on the keyboard, data goes out the MIDI out
of the keyboard. It does not go through the MIDI Thru.

The Computer MIDI out passes through the Keyboard's
MIDI IN and then to the Thru. The data coming
out the keyboard MIDI thru jack is exactly the same as that which arrived at the
MIDI in from the computer. However, and here it gets tricky, the data going
out the MIDI out of the keyboard does NOT go through the MIDI thru.
Only data coming into the keyboard goes out the thru. Got
it? If you understand that simple point you will be ahead of most people.
Whew!

USB MIDI

USB MIDI i/o is simpler to deal with
from a conceptual point of view. Data flows in both directions down a single
cable. There is no "MIDI Thru" is USB, so you cannot daisy chain.

MIDI PORTS: How we get MIDI data into and
out of the computer

There are
16 channels for every hardware MIDI IN and OUT PORT (MIDI i/o) on your computer.
Your computer's audio interface may have MIDI i/o, and if not you can buy a MIDI interface to add MIDI
i/o. First lets look at all the ways you can get MIDI data to your computer.

Going IN to the Recording Software: 5
ways

MIDI IN Ports: There are 5 basic ways
to bring MIDI data into a computer. You need to have at least one of them
to connect a keyboard or controller.

1. Some keyboards (not all!) come with built-in
USB MIDI interfaces. For these you just connect the USB cable to the computer
and install a driver (if required). The port will show up in your software.

Example of a keyboard controller with USB MIDI.
You don't need a MIDI interface if you connect via USB. See more
controllers

2. Many soundcards and audio interfaces may have
a built-in MIDI interface. The M-Audio 2496, Delta 1010, Emu 1820M,
MOTU 828mk2, Tascam FW1884 (and FW 1082) are examples of devices that have built-in
MIDI ports. Here you connect your gear to the standard MIDI jacks on the interface.

3. In this case that you don't have a built-in hardware
MIDI interface on your soundcard or a USB MIDI interface on your keyboard (or controller),
you have to purchase a separate MIDI Interface. They are not expensive
and are generally more reliable than joystick ports. Usually the interface connects
by USB to the computer and you connect your MIDI hardware via the standard MIDI
jacks on the interface.

4. Various MIDI Cable Conversion Interfaces. There are conversion
cables that, along with device drivers, can turn various connectors on PCs to
MIDI ports. There are basically 2 types. 1. The Joystick port to
MIDI cable (These are primarily for soundblaster soundcards), 2. The serial port
to MIDI cable. These cable devices are typically only as reliable as the
drivers. You want to make sure they are compatible with your operating
system. While these are often inexpensive they may have an issue with your
system. If you have to go cheap, go with a USB to MIDI cable like an
Emu
X-MIDI or
M-audio MIDI
sport UNO

5. There are a lot of older rack midi interfaces. There
are bound to be many on ebay and in the pawn shops. With these you
must be very careful, especially if they were designed for Windows 95, 98 and
for older DOS based computers. These typically connect by serial or
parallel ports. Steer clear. Without a functioning driver, these
midi interfaces will not work.

If you have a number of midi input devices like
keyboards, drum machines, controllers and control surfaces they each need a way
to connect to the computer. You can have a USB keyboard, a drum machine connected
through a MIDI port and a control surface connected by a 2nd midi port and all 3
will input data simultaneously to the track you are recording. Methods
can be mixed an matched. You computer will see and use all MIDI
inputs connected, whether they are on your soundcard or interface, are connected
through your USB hub, or are coming from a separate MIDI interface.

To send control events, (i.e., "notes") to your
sequencer any keyboard with a MIDI out will work, even if it
sounds like crap. Remember, you only need it to trigger the NOTE ON NOTE
OFF event to the sequencer, which will send them to your available synths, which
will send the sound to the speakers. Get it? Though the playing happened
at the keyboard, the sound can be triggered at any MIDI sound source, whether they
exist in hardware or software. You can even use an old CASIO with the speakers
ripped out as long as it has a MIDI out.

To Review: External MIDI IN ports bring
MIDI data from outside to inside the computer, where it can be recorded, and sent
back out the MIDI OUT port to the external device upon playback.

Going OUT of the Recording Software to hardware and software synths

Now lets look at how MIDI data leaves the sequencer
application in the computer and goes to different devices that make sound, both
inside and outside the computer.

External Ports: The recorded
data goes out of the sequencer to the MIDI out port which is connected to the
MIDI in port on your hardware instruments. The obvious example here is the computer
that sends MIDI data back to a hardware synthesizer. The instrument receives
the data and plays the sound.

Virtual Ports:
Internal MIDI ports direct data to sound sources inside your computer.
Your sequencer can create a virtual MIDI OUT port for every software
synthesizer on your system. Up to 16 MIDI channels can be available for
this virtual port, though a typical softsynth may not use them all. An
internal virtual MIDI port may also go to a MIDI synthesizer that is built into
your soundcard (Soundblaster cards have these) or to a small software synth installed in your operating system, such as
the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth, which is part of Windows XP.

In this example,
from Sonar 4, I have 2 hardware external MIDI ports (the E-DSP entries, which
were created when I installed my EMU 1820m audio interface) and 3 internal virtual
ports, the MS GS Wavetable SW synth, Pro 53, and Cakewalk TTS. (the TTS
was created when I installed Sonar, and I bought the Pro 53 as an add-on)
I can route the track to any channel on any port.

The External MIDI port will show up in your
sequencer application after you install the drivers. When you use
a software synth, a virtual MIDI port is created and will show up in
your sequencer application as soon as the soft synth is "instantiated"
(that's just a buzzword for "initialized." or started.)

Configuring your MIDI System's Ins and Outs

MIDI Interface
OUT--------->Keyboard
MIDI IN (if you are
only using your software synths this connection is not required.
If you want the computer to play the sounds on your keyboard, or if
you want to connect a 2nd module it is required)

Connecting Keyboards and Modules:
The sequencer MIDI out port can connect back to your keyboard's MIDI IN and
play up to 16 channels of voices if the keyboard is "multi-timbral" (meaning
it can sound many instruments at once). Some synths are not. Old
keyboards, like a DX7, only respond to 1 channel unless you hot rod it.
You can usually set the keyboard to respond to only one channel if you want
or to only channels 1,2,3,7,8, for example, or to all 16. Turning
off channels allows you to daisy chain more keyboards or modules by cabling
up the 2nd machine from the MIDI THRU on the 1st machine (which
is an exact copy of the data coming in the MIDI IN) to the MIDI IN of
the second machine. It is possible to have one MIDI port to control 16
different keyboards if you want it too! Usually, if your rig gets this
large you will buy a MIDI interface with 4 ports so you can play all 16 channels
of your Triton on one port. On a second port you might have with 10 channels
from your Proteus 2000, a couple for your Electribe, one for each of your 3
effects box, and the last for your drum machine. Port 3 may use all 16 channels
for a control surface and Port 4 might use all 16 more for a digital mixer...ooops
sorry, I forgot we are just getting started.

Example of how the SEQUENCER MIDI OUTS can be routed
to External keyboards and Software Instruments

Once
you have configured your MIDI system (see Figure 1 above) you should note how
the channels inside the sequencer can be routed to different sources both inside
and outside the computer (see Figure 2 below). On every MIDI track in
the sequencer, you specify where it goes. The more gear you have,
the more places you can send the data. You could take the bassline you
just recorded and route it to a virtual drum machine, edit the notes so they
all trigger kick drums, for example. Or make a Marcato String cadence
on your Triton, copy the data to another track, assign the track to Module 2
and have the same data play an ambient synth pad. The two together sound
like a very dreamy string section. Get the idea? The flexibility
of routing MIDI data allows for tremendous creative expression. Below
you see a MIDI system with 3 hardware devices and 3 software devices.
You can achieve that with just one hardware MIDI port.

Figure 2: Flow from Sequencer MIDI OUTs to Synths
MIDI INs

Advanced
MIDI In/Out/Thru Brain-Teasers

Lets say you have 2 machines daisy-chained
on the same MIDI OUT port. That is, the keyboard MIDI IN is connected
to the computer MIDI out and MIDI sound module #1 MIDI IN is connected
to the Keyboard's MIDI THRU(see Figure 1 again for an example
of daisy chaining). Now lets look at figure 2 again.
If you are sending a track down channel 7 from the sequencer and have
the Keyboard turned OFF on channel 7, What will happen?

The keyboard will ignore the data but
will still pass it to the next module. Why is that?
Because all of the data coming in to the keyboard is also going
out the MIDI THRU, MIDI sound module #1 will play the track.
So you ask, what happens if channel 7 is set to ON for both devices?
Bingo dude! You got it, they both play.

Now if each synth was on a different
PORT, would both synths make a sound. Nope! Why
not? Each port is totally discrete, that is separate. The
data on Port A does not go down Port B. To recap, remember, each
port has 16 channels of its own. The Port is the parent;
the channel is the child.

So, lets jump ahead, if you get
a midi interface that has 8 ports, how many channels do you have?
Yes, you math genius, 128. Does that mean you can connect 128
keyboards to ONE 8 port midi interface. YES!
But don't call me to wire it ok? Most people put each synth on
it's own dedicated port so they don't have to turn channels on and off
all the time.

The
m-audio 2496 is an inexpensive reliable soundcard for
music production and has a built in MIDI port.

multi-timbral boards with sounds

Good
starter boards

Roland
JUNO-Di 61-Key Synthesizer with Song PlayerOnstage or in the streets, the JUNO-Di is a
traveling musician's dream. It's lightweight, it can run on
batteries, and it's easy to use, yet it performs and sounds
like a heavyweight synth. It's packed with a wide variety of
top-quality sounds -- over 1,000 to choose from! It has a
friendly "direct access" control panel for easy editing and
a Song Player for larger-than-life performances.
First-timers and pros alike will love this friendly,
portable, great-sounding synth. Tweak: A great way to start!

Yamaha MM6 61-Key SynthesizerThe
MM6 Music Synthesizer delivers all that power and more. Drawing
on the same sounds of the popular pro-level MOTIF series instruments,
the MM6 has a wide variety of dynamic, realistic and just plain
powerful Voices to help you create amazing music. The MM6 also
gives you total control over your sound, with real-time tweakable
knobs, and features special Patterns that provide full backing
- drums, bass and chords - for your live performance and song
creation. And since the MM6 is exceptionally light and portable,
you can bring it anywhere and everywhere your music
Tweak: The MM6, code named the
"Mini 'Mo" just came out in the Spring of 2007. I think
it has dethroned the Juno D as the best starter synth under
600. A fantastic set of sounds for those doing hip hop.
There is also an
MM8 version with 88 keys.

Korg X50 61-Key Synthesizer KeyboardIntroducing the new X50 music synthesizer; packed
with Korg's distinctive and world-renown sounds, designed for
easy and intuitive operation, and with an ultra-light and compact
design that's ideal for the active musician.
Tweak:
Has a lot of the features and sounds the high end Tritons do.
Plus some features like USB that the original Tritons did not
have.

More Upscale

Korg M50-61 61-Key Synth WorkstationWeighing in at just fifteen pounds is the
fiery new KORG M50, ready to take on all contenders!
Incredible new sounds; fat & juicy combis, splits and
layers; a plethora of ace effects; dynamic Drum Tracks;
enhanced poly-arpeggiators; classic sequencing tools, a
solid, confident keybed; up-to-date SD storage; companion
editing software and our famous TouchView interactive
display - it all adds up to an invigorating and sexy
keyboard instrument that could only come from KORG.
Tweak: Huge bang
for the buck. Has a touchview screen.
88 key version

Yamaha MO6 61-Key Music Production SynthesizerYamaha, proudly introduces the MO Music Production
Synthesizer. Targeted to semi-professional musicians and home/project
studio owners as well as songwriters and performers, the MO
provides a full set of authentic sounds and comprehensive music-making
features-including an emphasis on contemporary styles and voices.
There is also an
88 key version of the Mo

Roland Juno-G 61-Key Synthesizer KeyboardLook familiar? True to its heritage, the new
Juno-G is affordable and user-friendly. But that's where the
comparisons to yesteryear end. This modern marvel packs a studio's
worth of sound, sequencing, and audio recording into one amazing
instrument. Sharing the same high-powered processor as Roland's
famous Fantom-X series, the Juno-G puts a world of first-class
sound and performance features under musicians' fingertips --
and allows more sounds to be added via SRX expansion. Songs
can be created with the onboard audio/MIDI recorder, all for
an incredibly low price!

Awesome

Roland Fantom-G8 88-Key Sampling WorkstationIntroducing
the most powerful and luxurious live workstation in Roland history.
The Fantom-G is a dream instrument that redefines the boundaries
of playability and creativity with its advanced sound engine,
revolutionary ARX SuperNATURAL expansion bay, large-sized color
LCD, powerful new audio/MIDI sequencer and more.